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While the world wasn’t looking — its attention was focused on GM black eyes like private-jet flame-outs, bankruptcy paperwork, and brand closings — Buick quietly released a midsize sedan that stole all the spotlights in the theater.

No sense being coy about “The L Word.” With its new-for-2010, Epsilon II-platform LaCrosse, Buick has clearly targeted the Lexus ES 350. Though the Buick is slightly longer, taller, and heavier than its Lexus rival, the two are close in size and closer in specification. Both are front-drive, flaunt comforts-filled cabins, and use similarly sized V-6 engines coupled to six-speed automatics (the LaCrosse also has a smaller, 3.0-liter six, and a four cylinder is reportedly in the pipeline). Only a few years ago the similarities would end there, and we’d be extolling the superiority of the “smoother, more refined, more stylish, etc.” Lexus. Not anymore.

If style were the sole gauge, the top-model LaCrosse CXS would leave the ES 350 in the dust. While the Camry-based Lexus is simple and innocuous, the Buick is bold, even stunning from some angles (particularly from the quarter-profile, where its muscular wheelarches, clipped overhangs, and regal, 111.7-inch wheelbase are shown to best advantage). Inside, the Buick pushes harder too, even taking risks — such as blue accent strips that glow at night like the interior of a dance club (yes, we used the term “dance club” while reviewing a Buick). A few test drivers knocked the LaCrosse cabin (styled, incidentally, in China by Shanghai GM), calling it too outre and button-filled, but others noted virtues like its superb seat stitching, plus its general modernity and spaciousness. Passengers in back, if they’re just arriving from the ES 350, will immediately note the near five-inch advantage in rear legroom. “Back seat is sumptuous,” writes Detroit editor Todd Lassa. “Nearly as comfortable as that of a BMW 7 Series.”

While both Lexus and the LaCrosse CXS run with V-6 power, the Buick’s 3.6-liter is a direct-injection unit that delivers more horsepower (280 hp versus 272) and, even with the additional several hundred pounds of car it’s carrying around, the same 27-mpg highway rating (the Lexus leads in the city, 19 mpg versus the Buick’s 17 mpg). We recorded a run to 60 mph in 6.4 seconds, which beats the last ES 350 we tested (6.5 seconds); of course, you’d have to be a particularly bold Buick man to go around looking for stoplight drags.

“Best-handling Buick ever?” opines Lassa. “Quiet and smooth on choppy roads.” Agrees technical director Frank Markus: “Exceptionally quiet at 80 mph. Cushy and comfy ride, good tire-noise isolation.” The LaCrosse continues the Buick tradition of effortless, intrusion-free miles consumption, albeit with more control and surefootedness than you’d ever have found in the past. (Later in the model year, Buick will also offer the LaCrosse with all-wheel drive, an all-weather advantage unmatched by the ES 350).

It’s on value that the LaCrosse truly pulls ahead. Base price for the top CXS edition is $33,765 — and the price includes leather seats (heated and ventilated up front), dual-zone climate, a 384-watt harmon/kardon audio system, a heated steering wheel, Bluetooth, and more. In contrast, the base ES 350 starts at $35,345, and if you want Bluetooth, heated/ventilated seats, or even leather on your seats, you’ll pay extra. Our LaCrosse CXS test car carried but one option package: premium audio with navigation and backup camera ($1995), raising the out-the-door to just over the Lexus’s base, $35,760.

“A pleasing, relaxing car to waft along in,” says Markus of the CXS. “Remarkably willing to perform speed-demon tricks — albeit with abundant tire noise; acquits itself better than it really needs to on winding roads.” Adds Lassa: “The car to have on a long road trip, especially if you have passengers along for the conversation.”

Buick’s new midsize has made us believers: abundant amenities, plentiful cabin space, poised chassis, smooth and solid powertrain, unbeatable value — plus an injection of flair Lexus simply can’t match. Perhaps the world was distracted as this new Buick slipped onto the world stage, but its stealth status won’t last. The LaCrosse CXS is simply too impressive to ignore.

Horsepower

2010 Buick LaCrosse News and Reviews

Buick must have been tired of watching Lexus build its reputation on cars that dominate the comfortable luxury sedan segment the American brand once ruled. The ES sedan was Lexus' top-selling vehicle for seven of the first 10 years the brand existed. After more than 20,000 miles with a 2010 LaCrosse, it's clear to us that Buick has crafted a…

Associate online editor Scott Evans spent some quality road-trip time in the LaCrosse. "'A Buick?' That's what everyone kept asking when I told them what car I was driving. What car would I rather take on an 800-mile drive? Considering how poor the weather was the weekend before, I was glad to have a car with a good set of…

At a club in Los Angeles with his wife, senior editor Jonny Lieberman had a shocking experience. "We parked at a lot on the corner of Hollywood and Vine, catty-corner from the Capital Records building. As I handed the car over to the valet -- a guy who, night after night, week after week, parks Benzes and Porsches and Astons…

Photographer Julia LaPalme was impressed by the V-6's power and the Buick's cushy cabin. She adds, "The Heads Up Display really is a wonderful feature, providing speed and radio info (you can change what it shows) within peripheral vision. The trunk is capacious, and the sunroof came in handy for viewing clouds and letting in fresh air without having my…

When we first saw the Buick Enclave, we knew things were turning around for the brand. The LaCrosse is even further evidence that Buick is heading in the right direction. As we spend more time with our long-term LaCrosse, we realize style has finally returned to the American icon. "It's impressive even before you pull away from the curb --…